Nintendo’s Iwata Announces ‘Zelda’ Railroad Game

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata delivered a keynote address at the Game Developers Conference (GDC 2009) on Wednesday, describing the secret behind the company’s success: “software sells hardware,” he said.

And success Nintendo has had: the company was the only game console company to show growth in the U.S. and Europe in 2008, and its Nintendo Wii has sold 50 million units. The Wii Fit’s balance board has sold 14 million units, which is approaching the 16 million units Sony has sold with the PlayStation 3.

Nintendo’s Bill Trinen also unveiled a flash-based storage solution for the Nintendo Wii, an SD card that will go along with the new Wii system menu 4.0. SDHD cards with up to 32 Gbytes are supported. The other new announcement? A bizarre “Legend of Zelda” game that combines a railroad simulator with dungeons.

(Note: due to logistical problems, this story was compiled using liveblogs filed by Kotaku, Wired, and 1UP.)

Although Iwata is responsible for Nintendo’s success or failure, most of the creative weight of the company falls on legendary designer Shiguru Miyamoto, known for the creation of “Mario Bros.”, “The Legend of Zelda,” and other iconic Nintendo hits. Iwata described some of the creative processes that Miyamoto goes through to help design games, and also to determine what aspects work in those games, and which don’t.

“After he upends the tea table, Miyamoto helps gather the dishes he has scattered, even suggesting where they should be placed,” Iwata said.

The key metric: fun. According to Iwata, Miyamoto attempts to determine how people are having fun, figure out what makes an activity fun, and then replicate it inside of a game. Many of the company’s games sprang from hobbies: gardening, for example, begat “Pikmin,” while owning a dog produced “Nintendogs”.

One of Nintendo’s keys to success has been expanding its market to those who haven’t traditionally played games, such as the elderly. Last year, half of the Nintendo DS buyers were women, with 27 percent over the system’s life. So how do you test games out on those who don’t play games? Kidnap them, of course. And that’s what Miyamoto does, Iwata said. The kidnap victim must figure things out for himself, he said, with Miyamoto looking on and taking notes.

The problem that creative designers that Miyamoto run into is that designers can’t take years to develop games; a company must hit its own internal development deadlines, and the profits and the revenue from a new games are needed to fund additional projects. Both “Nintendogs” and “Super Mario Galaxy” were intended to be launch titlles for the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii, respectively, but both failed to make it. Wii Sports did make the Nintendo Wii’s launch, but only with Miyamoto’s help.

“You have heard that Miyamoto is a perfectionist. This is true in some areas. But what strikes me is how in the course of development he can recognize the elements that work and that need to be improved,” Iwata said.

Making some games requires specialized talents, that sometimes the designers themselves lack. In making the game “Rhythm Heaven” for the DS, Nintendo found that the development team lacked, well, rhythm. Iwata said he authorized funds for dancing lessons, so that the team could set out to make a better game. The game has sold 1.7 million copies in Japan, and launches within the U.S. in 11 days, he said.

Iwata also showed off “Rock ‘N’ Roll Climber,” a mountain-climbing game that uses the Wii Fit’s Balance Board. At the top of each mountain, the player’s character rocks out on a guitar.

In response to complaints about the storage capacity attached to Nintendo’s WiiWare, Nintendo launched its 4.0 firmware, with support for the new high-capacity SDHD cards. The new firmware was pushed to consoles on Wednesday, which means that it is available now, according to Trinen. Games will be available for download via the online Wii shop.

WiiWare will receive a sequel to “Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King” and “Final Fantasy IV: The After Years,” later this year. In Japan, Nintendo will provide the first five “Final Fantasy” titles for download; the U.S. will receive just the first and fourth installment.

For the Nintendo DS, Nintendo unveiled “Moving Memo,” a game to create basic stop-motion animations from doodles, and “WarioWare Snapped!” a microgame collection played with the Nintendo DSi’s internal camera.

On the DS will also be Virtual Console Arcade, allowing users to download the classic games “Space Harrier,” “Gaplus,” “Star Force,” “Solvalou,” “The Tower of Druaga,” and “Mappy”.

Iwata saved the oddest announcement for last, however: “The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks” puts hero Link into a conductor’s outfit, riding the rails on a train with a mounted cannon. Link apparently has the ability to create and command enemies, making them fight others. The game will be available in the U.S. later this year.